Spring is here and the fish are biting. Good reports are pouring in from all the area land locked lakes.

The best reports on the catfish and white perch continue to come from lakes St. John and Concordia.

Yo-yo’s baited with shiners and catfish traps are producing limits of catfish.

Lake St. John fishermen and ladies are catching some huge white perch. They’re not catching many but they are big.

The best reports on the bream fishing are coming from Franklin County’s Lake Okhissa.

The bream are slowly moving out of the deep water flooded timber and getting ready to spawn in the shallows.

Crickets fished anywhere from 5 to 10 feet will produce bream with an average weight of better than a pound on Lake Okhissa.

The bass are settling down and we’re starting to establish patterns that last longer than a day.

Constant cold fronts were lowering and raising water temperatures.

The bass would be shallow one day and gone the next.

The weather has been great this week and the bass are in full spawn. Just stick with the shallows and you will find the bass.

Some of the most productive lures this week for big bass are the Davis Paca Jig with either a Zoom or Paca trailer.

Many colors will work and it seems like everyone has their favorite.

For numbers of bass try NetBaits Action Cat or a Zoom Brush Hawg.

As water temps continue to rise many other lure styles will come into play.

The water is only a few degrees away from my favorite time of year. The top water bite should be good in the coming weeks.

As the water warms up the bass will look toward the surface for an easy meal.

The big top water lures like a Heddon Zara Spook or anyone of the many imitations will call big bass to the surface.

Fish the big surface lures around any vegetation in the lake or target the thick cypress trees with over-hanging limbs.

For numbers of smaller bass try a Rebel Pop R.

The Pop R works great when the bass are feeding on small shad in the shallow spawning flats, coves and pockets.

Spinnerbaits and shallow diving crankbaits like the Bandit 100 series in shad or crawfish patterns will also produce numbers of bass.

Surface water temperatures average in the mid 60s today. Hopefully the temps will stay there and not drop again.

This month has been really tough on the bass fishing but it can only get better from here on out.

The bass and white crappie spawn is in full swing and it won’t be long before the bream will be on bedding.

Look for April to a great month to fish our area lakes. Be safe on the water. Wear your life jacket and please don’t throw trash in our lakes and on our highways.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@bellsouth.net